I have a right to remain in a Canadian jail: Jamaican man convicted of murdering his girlfriend in Toronto

John McLeod argues he has a right to remain in Canadian jail

A Jamaican man serving time in Canada for killing his girlfriend has challenged the constitutionality of his deportation order, arguing he should not be removed until the end of his life sentence.

John McLeod has been eligible for day parole since 2008 and is now eligible for full parole but has postponed and waived his parole hearings — if he accepts parole, the deportation order comes into effect.

He was convicted of second-degree murder in 2001 after killing Brendaly Figueroa, his Toronto girlfriend, in a fit of rage then stuffing her body in a suitcase and leaving it by the side of Highway 401.

He was sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility of parole for 12 years and, as a non-Canadian citizen, also given a deportation order for when he was released from prison.

He filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court of Canada against the government, saying the rules breach his constitutional rights and discriminate against foreign nationals by robbing them of a chance for conditional release.

[Deportation] does not deprive him of anything he has not, by his own conduct, already lost

His suit points out different definitions of what it means to complete a prison sentence. Under the Immigration and Refugee Act, a foreign national who engages in serious criminality is subject to removal once a prison sentence “is completed” and specifies that means “as soon as any form of conditional release is granted.”

However, under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, a sentence for a non-citizen is not considered complete — even if they are released on parole — until the expiration of the given sentence.

Federal Court Justice Donald Rennie dismissed the claims.

“Parliament has the right to prescribe the conditions under which foreign nationals who are convicted in Canada will be removed from Canada,” Judge Rennie wrote in his recent judgment.

Since the applicant has no right to remain in Canada there can be no differential treatment

“As the applicant has no right to remain in Canada, he has no right to access Canadian society under terms and conditions that are available to Canadian citizens; hence no Charter issue arises

“[Deportation] does not deprive him of anything he has not, by his own conduct, already lost.”

Judge Rennie said while citizens and non-citizens are treated differently, it does not equate to discrimination.

“Since the applicant has no right to remain in Canada there can be no differential treatment. A Canadian citizen has a right to remain in Canada. Therefore, a foreign national and a national are not [the same.]”

Lawyers for the government argued in court that the laws must balance public safety, rehabilitation of offenders and the promotion of international justice.

McLeod maintains his innocent in the murder. A Toronto jury, however, took just two hours to find he slit Ms. Figueroa’s throat after she told him she was leaving him.